Why I Chose Self-Publishing, Part Two
The next reason that I chose to self-published lies in who has gone before me and the fact that editors are humans, too. Sometimes editors or boards at large publishing houses make mistakes. More on that later. First, let’s look at the history of self-publishing.
1. History -
When you think of self-publishing, what is the first thing that goes through your mind? I’d wager there are a couple things. The first one is normally “Oh, so the author wasn’t good enough to get accepted into a traditional publishing house.” The next is that the author must be rich because you know it costs a lot of money. Then you go on to wonder where that person is going to put all those hundreds of books they had to buy. And, finally, you start to doubt the quality of the book.
A lot of these thoughts are valid. Fifty to a hundred years ago, self-publishing was called “vanity press” as a slight to those who deemed their book worthy of printing. The idea was that the self-published authors had been rejected by the “gatekeepers” (in other words, editors with impeccable judgment), and the authors were too vain to handle the rejections, so they hired a press to print their books. It was very expensive, and you normally had to buy hundreds of books, which then sat in your garage until you started throwing them away. I also have to admit that a few authors do not take the time to edit their book well enough, and sometimes the quality is bad.
In defense of self-publishing, a lot has changed. No longer is it expensive to hire a company. In fact, one company called Createspace lets you publish for free. You upload your interior as a PDF, choose from one of the templates for a cover (or upload your own image), and then buy the books. Period. Thanks to print-on-demand printing, a machine can print a book in the matter of minutes. This allows an author to buy ten or ten thousand copies. I will admit that there are a lot self-published books out there that need serious editing, but most professional authors will carefully edit the book before printing. There are a lot of books from traditional publishing houses with serious errors.
However before 1941, most publications were self-published because they were written, printed, and sold by the owner of the printer. It’s only in this late century that the roles of author and publisher have been separated. Don’t believe me? Look at this list of self-published authors...both from long ago and now. Benjamin Franklin, William Blake, Virginia Woolf, Thomas Paine, Alexandre Dumas, Walt Whitman, James Joyce, E.E. Cummings, Oscar Wilde, Tom Peters (In Search of Excellence), D.H. Lawrence, Thomas Paine, Christopher Paolini, Edgar Allen Poe, George Bernard Shaw, E. B. White, Upton Sinclair, G.P. Taylor, Mark Twain, Henry David Thoreau, Zane Grey, Rudyard Kipling, Carl Sandburg, Gertrude Stein, John Grisham, and Stephen King. And the list goes on!
· 2. Relying on the GatekeepersEditors didn’t always make the best call, which is a natural thing. I love fantasy and don’t really like romance. If I was an editor, and you sent me a romance, I wouldn’t know whether it was good or not, probably wouldn’t like it, and would probably reject it. Many people believe that a novel that has been rejected is worthless. We have been brainwashed into believing that editors are looking for great writing. And if our writing is great, the editor will accept it. Period. WRONG!!! Editors are also looking for profit, especially today where the houses are losing money. And remember…editors are humans and sometimes they make bad judgment calls. Don’t believe me? Look at this…
1. Pearl S. Buck. The Good Earth - 14 times.2. Joseph Heller. Catch-22 - 22 times. 3. Anne Frank. Diary of Anne Frank - 16 rejections. One publisher said, “The girl doesn't, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the 'curiosity' level.4. Stephen King. His first four novels were rejected. On his fifth book, King received 30 rejections, and then he threw it in the trash. His wife fished it out. King sent it out again. One of the publishers said, “We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. They do not sell.” It was finally bought, with little enthusiasm, for $2,500. It’s called Carrie.5. Frank Herbert. Dune - 23 rejections. It won the Hugo Award for Best Novel. Dune was followed by five sequels and a film version of the book. 6. William Golding. Lord of the Flies - 20 rejections. One publisher said: “An absurd and uninteresting fantasy which was rubbish and dull.”7. Richard Doddridge Blackmore. Lorna Doone - 18 rejections. Today Blackmore is considered one of the greatest British authors of the 19th century.8. Richard Hooker. M*A*S*H – 21 times. Before the series, and the film, there was the novel. 9. Margaret Mitchell. Gone With the Wind - 38 rejections. It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1937. 10. Madeleine L'Engle. A Wrinkle in Time - 26 rejections. 11. J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter –12 times. A small London publisher took it on because the CEO’s eight-year-old daughter begged her father to print it. 12. George Orwell. Animal Farm – at least once. One publisher rejected it because “It is impossible to sell animal stories in the USA.”13. Richard Adams. Watership Down - at least once. The publisher said “Older children wouldn’t like it because its language was too difficult.”14. John Grisham. A Time to Kill - 15 publishers, 30 agents. 15. Chicken Soup for the Soul. 140 rejections. Today, the 65-title series has sold more than 80 million copies in 37 languages.16. Dr. Seuss. To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street – 29 rejections. 17. Louis L'Amour. 200 rejections.18. Jack London. 600 rejections
What’s your rejection limit? Do you want to follow Jack London’s example and collect 600? If you have to do the marketing either route you choose, why not stop wasting time and get out there and start making money? Think it can’t be done? On the next blog, I’ll give you some modern examples of people who self-published and are household names.
1. History -
When you think of self-publishing, what is the first thing that goes through your mind? I’d wager there are a couple things. The first one is normally “Oh, so the author wasn’t good enough to get accepted into a traditional publishing house.” The next is that the author must be rich because you know it costs a lot of money. Then you go on to wonder where that person is going to put all those hundreds of books they had to buy. And, finally, you start to doubt the quality of the book.
A lot of these thoughts are valid. Fifty to a hundred years ago, self-publishing was called “vanity press” as a slight to those who deemed their book worthy of printing. The idea was that the self-published authors had been rejected by the “gatekeepers” (in other words, editors with impeccable judgment), and the authors were too vain to handle the rejections, so they hired a press to print their books. It was very expensive, and you normally had to buy hundreds of books, which then sat in your garage until you started throwing them away. I also have to admit that a few authors do not take the time to edit their book well enough, and sometimes the quality is bad.
In defense of self-publishing, a lot has changed. No longer is it expensive to hire a company. In fact, one company called Createspace lets you publish for free. You upload your interior as a PDF, choose from one of the templates for a cover (or upload your own image), and then buy the books. Period. Thanks to print-on-demand printing, a machine can print a book in the matter of minutes. This allows an author to buy ten or ten thousand copies. I will admit that there are a lot self-published books out there that need serious editing, but most professional authors will carefully edit the book before printing. There are a lot of books from traditional publishing houses with serious errors.
However before 1941, most publications were self-published because they were written, printed, and sold by the owner of the printer. It’s only in this late century that the roles of author and publisher have been separated. Don’t believe me? Look at this list of self-published authors...both from long ago and now. Benjamin Franklin, William Blake, Virginia Woolf, Thomas Paine, Alexandre Dumas, Walt Whitman, James Joyce, E.E. Cummings, Oscar Wilde, Tom Peters (In Search of Excellence), D.H. Lawrence, Thomas Paine, Christopher Paolini, Edgar Allen Poe, George Bernard Shaw, E. B. White, Upton Sinclair, G.P. Taylor, Mark Twain, Henry David Thoreau, Zane Grey, Rudyard Kipling, Carl Sandburg, Gertrude Stein, John Grisham, and Stephen King. And the list goes on!
· 2. Relying on the GatekeepersEditors didn’t always make the best call, which is a natural thing. I love fantasy and don’t really like romance. If I was an editor, and you sent me a romance, I wouldn’t know whether it was good or not, probably wouldn’t like it, and would probably reject it. Many people believe that a novel that has been rejected is worthless. We have been brainwashed into believing that editors are looking for great writing. And if our writing is great, the editor will accept it. Period. WRONG!!! Editors are also looking for profit, especially today where the houses are losing money. And remember…editors are humans and sometimes they make bad judgment calls. Don’t believe me? Look at this…
1. Pearl S. Buck. The Good Earth - 14 times.2. Joseph Heller. Catch-22 - 22 times. 3. Anne Frank. Diary of Anne Frank - 16 rejections. One publisher said, “The girl doesn't, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the 'curiosity' level.4. Stephen King. His first four novels were rejected. On his fifth book, King received 30 rejections, and then he threw it in the trash. His wife fished it out. King sent it out again. One of the publishers said, “We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. They do not sell.” It was finally bought, with little enthusiasm, for $2,500. It’s called Carrie.5. Frank Herbert. Dune - 23 rejections. It won the Hugo Award for Best Novel. Dune was followed by five sequels and a film version of the book. 6. William Golding. Lord of the Flies - 20 rejections. One publisher said: “An absurd and uninteresting fantasy which was rubbish and dull.”7. Richard Doddridge Blackmore. Lorna Doone - 18 rejections. Today Blackmore is considered one of the greatest British authors of the 19th century.8. Richard Hooker. M*A*S*H – 21 times. Before the series, and the film, there was the novel. 9. Margaret Mitchell. Gone With the Wind - 38 rejections. It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1937. 10. Madeleine L'Engle. A Wrinkle in Time - 26 rejections. 11. J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter –12 times. A small London publisher took it on because the CEO’s eight-year-old daughter begged her father to print it. 12. George Orwell. Animal Farm – at least once. One publisher rejected it because “It is impossible to sell animal stories in the USA.”13. Richard Adams. Watership Down - at least once. The publisher said “Older children wouldn’t like it because its language was too difficult.”14. John Grisham. A Time to Kill - 15 publishers, 30 agents. 15. Chicken Soup for the Soul. 140 rejections. Today, the 65-title series has sold more than 80 million copies in 37 languages.16. Dr. Seuss. To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street – 29 rejections. 17. Louis L'Amour. 200 rejections.18. Jack London. 600 rejections
What’s your rejection limit? Do you want to follow Jack London’s example and collect 600? If you have to do the marketing either route you choose, why not stop wasting time and get out there and start making money? Think it can’t be done? On the next blog, I’ll give you some modern examples of people who self-published and are household names.
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